Tuesday, December 16, 2014

So just a quick post to let you know I've moved my blog over to my website. I'm excited about this move and am very please with how the new website is coming together. I hope you will join me for future blog hops, fun and upcoming events at my new site Hippie Chick Jewelry & Design.
~Kari

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Once again Lori Anderson invites us to stop hoarding and start creating! Many of us beady people tend to hoard, stash, squirrel or otherwise keep a tight grip on many of the lovely beads we acquire. So Lori is challenging us again to pull out those gorgeous beads and use them...it's time to create some gorgeous designs! I must say last time I participated in this hop I went creative crazy. I was very inspired. This time I am in the middle of a 6 day...that's right SIX...show that spreads over 2 weekends and started right after Thanksgiving! I do this show every year and every year I tell my family this will be the last year...that started about 10 years ago! Anyway, the long and the short is I only created one necklace this time around and I am writing this post just after 11pm with my hubby reminding over the shoulder it will be bedtime soon because tomorrow is an early morning. Oh the life of an artist!

Beads from the "collection" (my preferred term...hoarder seems so ugly for such beauty) are the stunning seahorse pendant from Nan Emmett of Spirited Earth and boro beads from Firelily. The seaglass is new from Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures. She holds some wonderful destash and bead challenge kits and events in her Facebook group. The piece is finished with copper chain, one of my handmade spiral clasps. All the copper is antiqued and sealed by me.

I wore this piece to my show today. I haven't decided if I will list it my shop or keep it for myself...I still have enough beads in my stash to make another and at least 3 more seahorse pendants from Nan...maybe I should sell this one! LOL! Well that's it for me...I'm off to bed soon for a busy day tomorrow. I will hop around next week while I am trying to recover from this show craziness :) Please visit Lori's blog here for a complete list of participants...I know there will be tons of gorgeous eye candy to see! ~Kari

Thursday, November 20, 2014

It's that time again! Another Andrew Thornton Design Challenge reveal. This month's palette was inspired by moonstone and labradorite. The kit contains gorgeous shades of grey, peach, white and flashes of blue. I love these gemstones so naturally I had to participate. Here is a before picture of what we received...as usual Andrew provided a ton of gorgeous beads to inspire!

I take all my pictures on a white background so of course the white beads don't show up as well in this picture but I think you get the idea. As usual, we also received a mystery component...isn't it beautiful?

It really has all the colors of the kit and is very beautiful...this picture didn't quite do it justice. So as many of you know from my last few posts...life is hectic these days. Well...it hasn't really slowed down and now a show right around the corner! So needless to say I had many ideas for this kit but in the end really only accomplished 3 finished designs. But I did try a little something new so that's something! First up the something new...

I've been wanting to try out some new things with wire and this kit had several beads I thought would be perfect for trying out some spiral type pedants. I do like how they turned so I will be playing a bit more with this design.

I'm not sure yet how I want to use these pendants...I'm not a big fan of the ball chain look that many use. I'll likely do something beaded or one of my bead/ribbon styles but for now they just sit as pendants. I also made a bracelet...suitable of course for stacking with other bracelets! I know shocking ;)

Everything is from the bead kit except the antiqued copper wire and the snap clasp. I really love the way this one turned out. definitely looking at making more in this asymmetrical stack style. As has been my trend lately, I used the mystery component from the kit. I really love the size Andrew has been making them. Perfect for a necklace or bracelet design...although I'm favoring bracelets lately.

Well that's it for me this time! Hope you enjoyed your stop here today. Thanks to Andrew for putting together these inspiring kits! Don't forget to visit the links below to see everyone else's creations. ~Kari

Saturday, November 15, 2014

I stumbled across Lisa Lodge's facebook group Pine Ridge Treasures just in time to get in on this wonderful blog hop featuring components from Sharyl McMillian-Nelson of Metapolies. It was a great opportunity to get some of Sharyl's components and be surprised...I love beady surprises! Lisa offers lots of blog and creative challenge kits so come join us for some beady fun. You can visit Sharyl's shop by clicking above or connect with her on facebook here to catch the latest news, sales and new offerings available! Now lets get on with the reveal!

First up...a look at what I received. 2 gorgeous metal charms by Sharyl. They are hand embossed copper with a gorgeous icy blue patina. Lisa also included a strand of white glass pearls and pumpkin shaped copper beads to complete my kit. I know kits were sent at random but seriously ...it's like they both knew exactly what I would love and made it happen! There were plenty of materials and the charms were large enough I could have split them up and done necklace designs but they really spoke to me for earrings...

I added waxed linen in rust, a small sterling daisy spacer...I love mixing metals, especially silver and copper...a bit of copper chain and a pair of my handmade copper ear wires. I love the finished look...they are a bit bold, with a bit of movement and the feel of sitting near a warm fire on an icy, cold winter evening!

Aren't they just delish! I do have plans to use the rest of the pearls and copper beads in one of my stack style bracelets but that will be another day. Thanks for stopping by today and sharing again in my creative process. I hope you will visit the other participants listed below and spread the blog love! ~Kari

Thursday, October 30, 2014

It's that time again! Andrew Thornton put together a special Halloween edition design kit called Midnight Magic...on 13 magical kits available and today is the big reveal! Here is a picture of the goodies we received.

and as with every kit...Andrew included a wonderful mystery component.

I had a lot of inspired ideas for this kit but I have several irons in the fire right now so to speak so I didn't get as much completed as I hoped for...but in an unusual turn for me it's all earrings this time! I only used beads and bead caps from the kit. The only additions I made are copper wire, brass wire and Vintaj findings for each pair. This first pair is VERY long at about 4.5 inches.

I love the way the copper in this pairs gives them a fall caramel apple feel...I love caramel apples at Halloween!

and this last pair another warm autumn feel...

So that's it for me this time. Andrew is working on a gallery set up today so it will be later this evening before his post is up with a complete list of participants. Please visit the links below to see what everyone created. Have a safe and happy Halloween! ~Kari

Thursday, October 23, 2014

It't that time again to enjoy another design challenge and blog hop hosted by the wonderful Andrew Thornton! If you are not familiar with Andrew's design challenge kits you can visit his blog here for the details. Now on to the good stuff...

I usually take pictures of the kit when I receive it but this time...OOPS! forgot that part...or if I took them, I stored them in a super secret folder on my computer. If you want to see what was in the kit you can check it out here. So I really love purples and greens so I was excited to grab this one up. I played with design possibilities for several days but in the end settle on bracelets...LOTS of them!

They are all tied on Irish waxed linen...some have plum, some olive, and some emerald green. The plum came with the kit all other colors are from my own supply. I used brass snap clasps from my supplies and one artisan charm...I'll give you the details when we get to that picture.

Everything else is from the kit...I love how each bracelet is beautiful alone but also look great in any combination together...makes for lot of versatility...which I love in my jewelry! Isn't the polymer crown charm fantastic? Andrew made it as our mystery component this time. It has a lovely shimmer that kind of shows in the picture although never as dazzling as it is in person.

Remember that artisan charm I mentioned earlier? I won 3rd place in the ACM Jewelry Designer Contest held in July...if you have not checked out this group on Facebook you really should...tons of beady goodness all in one great location. We've also started a marketplace to shop all these lovely bead artists. Anyway...long story, longer...HAHA! I got to choose $10 worth of goodies from one of our artists shops. I chose Linda Landig...she makes wonderful ceramic goodies. I asked her to surprise. This fantastic charm is ONE of the goodies she sent me. It is a perfect element for the dark greens of this kit! and the perfect size for a bracelet charm :)

This is the first bracelet I made ...funny it's the last I'm showing. I love this combination the luster in the green beads is perfect with the dark plum color.

I also made earrings to match this bracelet...the picture of them alone was not loading correctly...so had to resort to just sharing the picture of the pair...

and a picture of all the bracelets together...lovely combination, don't you think? So that's it for me this time. Thank you once again to Andrew for putting together wonderful kits full of inspiration and beady goodness! I hope you will check out the other participants below and see what lovelies they created! ~Kari

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

I love this image Lisa of Pine Ridge Treasures has been sharing as we approach the reveal date for the Autumn Night Sky bead challenge. This is my first reveal with one of Lisa's kits ...I have at least 1 each month with her from now through December. So stay tuned for lots of fun stuff! But first...it's time to see the Autumn Night Sky...

I always to snap a picture when I receive any design kits but in this case I somehow missed doing that so this picture is after I made my pieces but shows all the types of beads I received...the kit was actually very generous with 2 strands of the pearls and 2 strands of the crystals!

I have to be honest I don't work with a lot of glass pearls ...but I knew going into these challenges that many of them will contain glass pearls...so comes the challenge for me! I have been very into stack and wrap bracelets the last several months. The style just works for me...simple or extravagant or any where in between depending on how you feel that day.

I used crystals and pearls from the kit and added plum Irish waxed linen and a silver snap clasp for this triple wrap bracelet. I love it! It also goes really nicely with several bracelets I made from my Dark Bloom challenge kit from Andrew Thornton...so kudos for coordinating pieces! It's also long enough to wear as a necklace...so the options are really endless.

I also made a pair of coordinating earrings. I don't wear a lot of earrings but I always tend to make them to coordinate with my designs, especially bracelets. All beads are from the kit and I've again used the plum Irish waxed linen. I also added a pair of my twisted copper jump rings and copper ear wires. I really love these deep rich colors and everything has just the right touch of sparkle!

I have really enjoyed my first design kit from Lisa and look forward to the coming months sharing my other kits and designs with you...most of them are done at this point...so now just waiting for time to share...the anticipation is killing me! Not all of these challenges are blog hops...several are just sharing your designs in the facebook albums on the Pine Ridge Treasure page, which you can find here. I will be blogging on each challenge as well as sharing in the albums...part of my efforts to get in the habit of blogging more regularly :)

So I hope you'll check out the Facebook album to see what everyone else created...my next reveal is Royal Feather (Andrew Thornton) on October 16...hope to see you then! ~Kari

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

So once again I was lucky enough to be selected as a guest participant in the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month Giveaway. If you are not familiar with the giveaway click here for information. It's extra special to me to participate this month because it's my birthday month! Our hostess for this month's component is Kristi Bowman. She makes many lovely components in copper, white copper and polymer clay...you can find her amazing work here.

Kristi made something new for this...she calls them Goddess Vessels. Mine immediately started talking to me...unfortunately I had a trade show going on when it arrived so it had to wait for a few days before I could answer it's call. I also must say as soon as I started putting my design together the name Crimson Huntress came to mind...did I mention this one practically made itself?

I have to say I love it when all my art bead friends play so well together...it makes for wonderful designs and finished pieces! The spiral headpins and clasp are handmade by me. The rest of the line up includes an awesome lampwork headpin by Genea Beads, lampwork beads by Bubby and McGurk and of course the beautiful goddess vessel by Kristi. Sari ribbon, Irish waxed linen, crystals, copper chain and red coral complete the design.

I will say when I bought this stunning headpin I had no clue how I would ever use it! I don't use a lot of red in my designs but it was just too stunning to pass up. So I bought it and figured it would be part of my ever growing "collection". This was the first element I chose when I received the goddess vessel...I knew it would be perfect!

Here's a closer shot of the lampwork beads and the crystal/coral fringe. The lampwork beads have red, cream, brownish red colors...a perfect compliment to bright red in the headpin and the rich brown/red of the copper.

I found a piece of sari ribbon in my "collection" that was a perfect dark chocolatey red with a bit of a sheen to it. I love using ribbon at the back of necklaces, very soft on the neck and adds a beautiful element instead of hiding beautiful beads back there. Plus I love the gypsy, bohemian feel it gives my designs.

One more close up so you can have a better look at those gorgeous lampwork beads :)

In case I didn't mention it...I'm keeping this one for myself! I've worn it once already and I LOVE IT! Happy birthday to me! Thank you Kristi for the opportunity to join in the fun! I always enjoy working with your components and this time was no exception!

This is a blog hop so I hope you will visit the links below to see everyone's beautiful creations!~Kari

Friday, September 19, 2014

A big apology to Andrew, our host and my fellow challenge participants for my late post. I hope you will all forgive me this time...it's been a crazy couple of weeks and turned out to be time with my mom and then time with my daughter later in the evening. Much fun was had but now here I am late, late, late!

I only have a couple of pieces completed this time...I ran into time crunches with a trade show and orders to fill after...but that's a good thing! :)

First up the earrings...I loved these two slightly mismatched, colorful beads. They were just meant to be earrings! They are finished off with a selection of beads from the kit and my handmade antique copper findings. Lots of color and movement in these adorable earrings!

Then there was the sunburst idea...I have to give total credit to my mom for the idea...I just executed her concept! It uses the wonderful mystery component from the kit along with a random assortment of beads from the premium blend and my handmade brass spiral headpins. This was supposed to be a complete necklace but this is where schedules got crazy and there was just no chance to get further. It sits on my desk, along with a few other ideas from this kit waiting to be finished. That's on next week's list now that show orders are shipped!

I always try to design several things from Andrew's wonderful kits but this time a fell quite short of that goal...but sometimes that's ok, right?

Thanks for stopping by, below you will find a list of links to the other participants for this hop. I do hope you will pop in and see what lovelies they created! ~Kari

Friday, August 15, 2014

I'm a bit late with getting my design created, photographed and posted...I had a great idea earlier this week when I saw this inspiration photo for this month's We're All Ears challenge. Click on the link to see Erin's post about the inspiration. When I sat down last night to start putting things together...I was struck by an even better idea! The new idea of course required testing out a new to me technique and overnight drying time...so please forgive my tardiness but it was all in the name of learning :)

I really loved all the color and the long lines in our inspiration photo...I wanted to mimic this look in some way. Originally I had planned to use magenta waxed linen not chain. I also decided on a mismatched design so I could include as many of the colors in one pair of earrings without getting to cumbersome.

So my decision to switch to chain last night came when I was looking up different ways to use alcohol ink and I discovered it could be used on metal...how perfect is that... I think the metal adds an element of glimmer that better mimics the picture then my original waxed linen plan. I'm very pleased with how these turned out.

I hope you will stop by the Earrings Everyday blog here to see what Erin and the rest of the participants created!
~Kari

Thursday, August 14, 2014

So it's time again for another Andrew Thornton design challenge reveal! This month is Dark Bloom...a gorgeous blend of black, grey and silver to perfectly accent the rich purples and pinks...a fantastic palette!

In case, you haven't been following or aren't familiar with Andrew's design kits, I will mention just a couple of things...he is VERY generous with the contents of our kits. We get a premium blend of seed beads and assorted glass, a clasp, waxed linen, vintage glass, czech glass, crystals and the "mystery" component, a surprise until it arrives in your mailbox :)...it's a wonderful way to get inspired! So for any who follow my blog you know lately I've been creating a lot of bracelets...particularly the stacking/layering style. I love them and they allow for such versatility. I think the nature of the bead styles in these kits lends nicely to these bracelets. The sizes of the beads are well suited to lots of them being worn together and Andrew coordinates everything so nicely...it just seems right.

I don't do much designing with seed beads anymore...they tend to be stoppers or fillers for larger beads...but with this kit I decided to challenge myself to use more of the beautiful premium blend which is mostly seed beads. I'm experimenting lately with making my own jump rings, so this bracelet came together with the marrying of a personal challenge to use the seed beads and wanting to experiment with more ways I could use my handmade jump rings. Oh, and one of my first attempts at making ball headpins! I love how this turned out...simple but so stylish! All metal findings made by me, all beads are from the kit.

This bracelet shows another of my latest design favorites...Irish waxed linen. This stuff is great fun to design with comes in 30+ colors, creates durable designs this has replaced my use of flexible bead wire pretty much completely. I hate using crimps, I never feel like they are secure and even though its "flexible" beading wire still has a stiffness and lack of movement...to me anyway. Waxed linen has flexibility, movement and a boho feel that I really like for my designs. So every thing in this bracelet is from the kit except the copper snap clasp.

For this bracelet I went a simple design so the polymer charm would really be the focus. This was our "mystery" component, handmade by Andrew. I'm sure the flat black beads are some type of gemstone, but haven't had a chance to look them up. I used some of my handmade twisted jump rings, gunmetal clasp and faceted glass. Focal, beads and clasps are from the kit. All jump rings are handmade by me.

For this double wrap bracelet I used glass beads from the 4 mini strands to make the different sections, separated by acrylic chips from the premium blend and the rest of the waxed linen. Added a snap clasp and VOILA!

Earrings to coordinate with any of the bracelet designs...

and last I loved the look of my first bracelet with the seed beads and jump rings so much I thought it would make a nice necklace design too. So that's it for me...all the bracelets can be stacked together or worn separately and the earrings and necklace coordinate nicely with everything. Thanks to Andrew for another beautiful and inspiring kit! If you are interested in playing along the kits sell out fast so keep an eye out on Andrew's blog...I believe the next one is scheduled to go on sale tomorrow evening ;)

I hope you will hop around now to the other participants and see what beautiful designs they created!
~Kari

Saturday, August 9, 2014

The coming week looks like it will be very busy for this Hippie Chick. I will be sharing my Dark Bloom Design Challenge Reveal, Thursday, August 14. I hope to complete a design for the Earrings Everyday monthly challenge...to be shared Friday, August 15. And I received my Festival of Lights Design Kit last week so time spread that out on the desk so it can properly "speak" to me :) I am also just under a month from my next trade show...and not feeling the least bit ready...YIKES!

So let's have some pretty bead pictures to distract us from all this craziness! So this is the teaser Andrew offered on his latest design challenge. I have managed to get a kit for every challenge he has offered, except Radiant Orchid...I'm still a little sad on that one...I love purple! These challenge kits have really inspired me and it's been a wonderful summer of creativity from the challenges and it carries over into my other designs...my muse has been loving me lately so I'm just rolling with it!

Each kit is filled with goodies...glass, crystals, some vintage, all perfectly coordinated!

More glass, a generous amount of Irish waxed linen...

and what he calls the "premium blend"...this has a bit of everything...seed beads, crystals, sequins, acrylic, glass, a little of this and a little of that! And again perfectly blended to match the kit. I know you're thinking how great are all these goodies...so much stuff to get the design muse flowing...but there's more!

The "mystery" goodies...some months it's one item...other months its several! It's a mystery until the package arrives in our mailbox and always has it's own special public reveal date...if you want to see you'll have to stop back by on August 18th for the big reveal!

Other exciting things are happening and I hope to be sharing them soon! In the meantime I hope you'll stop by on Thursday, August 14th for the Dark Bloom Reveal...